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Ford determined to unseat Citroën, Loeb in WRC second half

Petter Solberg trails Sebastian Loeb by 55 points in the World Rally Championship standings. The next event is Rally Finland, which begins on Aug. 2. Photo by LAT Photographic

Ford team principal Malcolm Wilson says his team is more motivated than ever to beat Sébastien Loeb with the Frenchman potentially on the verge of retiring from the sport.

Citroën driver Loeb has dominated the World Rally Championship for much of the last decade, but Wilson is more convinced than ever that Ford has the package to end the eight-time champion's rule.

Loeb is 55 points ahead of the nearest Ford driver, Petter Solberg, in this year's world championship, but Wilson says the team is putting a disastrous first half of the year behind it to start Rally Finland, Aug. 2-5, and the second half with a clean sheet of paper.

“We might only have six chances left to beat Sébastien Loeb,” Wilson said, “and we have to make them count. We can't waste a single one of them. I've said it before, but I say it again: We have the most competitive package we've ever had since I took on this Ford contract in 1997. And I can't tell you about the frustration in the team that we haven't been able to turn that potential into victories.

“I'm so determined to get these guys to win while Loeb's still there. Yes, we should have won more rallies this year—there's no question—but we haven't done it and we have to move on.”